


Someday we'll get it right

by cryleigh



Category: Exit Tunes Presents ACTORS (Albums)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Character Study, Domestic Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-26
Updated: 2018-12-26
Packaged: 2019-09-27 18:59:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17167532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cryleigh/pseuds/cryleigh
Summary: It's been three years since Takato and Rei have graduated from Tensho Academy and started dating officially.  Every relationship isn't without it's ups and downs, but it's the everyday triumphs that ultimately bring two people closer together.Retrospective/character-study on Takato and Rei's relationship. Takato POV. Headcanons galore.





	Someday we'll get it right

**Author's Note:**

> It's my first time posting a fic to the internet is 8 years so I'm nervous hhhh but I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Title is from the song Get it right by Oh Honey

Rei was off today.

Takato could tell it by the way the door shut just a little more forcefully than normal. By no means was it a proper tantrumed slam — Rei was not the kind of person who threw tantrums, after all — but was definitely the level of force of someone who did not realize they’d put more strength into it than necessary. An accident. And Rei was not usually one to do things by accident.

He thought for a second he might ought to tread carefully, but upon second thought knew that beating around the bush never seemed to help when it came to deciphering Rei’s feelings. He was evasive all on his own — he certainly didn’t need Takato to help in that regard. 

Takato stepped out of the kitchen, calling out a greeting. Rei was still taking off his shoes, setting them neatly to the side. His actions would seem normal to any unsuspecting bystander, but Takato had been with him long enough to see the tension in his hands, and to notice how he carefully hid his face from Takato’s view.

He still hadn’t received a response to his greeting, so he crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall, watching him. “So what’ll it be?” He asked in a teasing tone. “Dinner, a bath or me?”

“Oh, can it,” was the harsh response. 

It was a stupid question that Takato only ever asked when Rei was in a bad mood, but it did help him gauge exactly just how bad it was. Often the question would get laughed off with an apology for looking so severe. If he was actually having an off day, he might take Takato up on the first two offers and let his boyfriend take care of him. He only ever got seriously shut down when Rei was in a foul mood.

Takato tried not to make it obvious on his face, but internally he was already bracing himself in case he’d already misstepped.

“Sorry, sorry.” He said apologetically, backing off immediately. “I wasn’t joking about dinner though. Come eat something at least.”

Rei didn’t answer, a quick nod the only indication of acknowledgement. Takato retreated back to the kitchen, gathering everything into bowls and carrying them over to the table. He could hear the water running in the bathroom as Rei washed up. He couldn’t help but smile a little when he thought about the kind of life they were sharing together now. Considering where they’d come from the concept almost felt magical.

Only a few years ago in their last year of high school he had been convinced Rei had hated his guts. He’d had a crush on him since first year, although of course in all the time they’d spent together he hadn’t really noticed what his feelings had meant. It had only been once Rei had mysteriously removed himself from Takato’s company in second year, and once his desire for Rei’s presence had turned into something of an obsession that he realized the gravity of his situation. It had been two painful years of trying to barge back into Rei’s life, volunteering for Beautification Club activities even when he had his own club he should have been attending to, “accidentally” running into him at the coffee shop he knew he frequented. Looking back, he supposed he wasn’t surprised that Rei was always so contemptuous towards him — he’d been downright annoying.

It had been equal parts embarrassing and dream-like when Takato had finally broken down in front of him, unable to hold back the flood of feelings any longer — he remembered his heart squeezing so tightly that he thought it might burst in his chest as he held Rei’s wrist to keep him from walking away before he was done. The confession had come out in a jumble — mis-jointed sentences that they would have to piece together and clarify throughout the first six months of their relationship. He hadn’t wanted to cry but the tears had come anyway, making Rei’s expression in his vision blurry and his voice wobbly, and yet he had still said it: “Rei, I really like you”.

He remembered thinking Rei would bolt, and Takato would have let him. He’d said his piece after all. He clearly remembered that Rei had looked uncomfortable, and looking back Takato didn’t blame him, considering the situation -— the crying and clinging in particular. But after a long — torturously long — moment, Rei had adjusted his grip so that they were tentatively holding hands. He remembered the older boy looking down at their linked fingers and taking in a long shaking breath. At last he had said, in a bit of a mumbled, embarrassed tone, “This doesn’t feel too bad after all.” 

Rei properly accepted his confession after a few days, and not before running Takato around in circles with his tendency to hide his embarrassment behind curtains of knee-jerk denials and reluctant half-truths. 

They’d been dating for about three years now. There had been rocky patches here and there certainly — how to navigate the treacherous waters of a first same-sex relationship, the prospect of being separated once graduating high school, Rei’s bad habit of closing himself off and Takato’s equally bad habit to not let some things be.

But on top of it all they’d become closer. Takato often still referred to Rei as a “perfect” senpai — to which Rei would either groan or scoff depending on the context. Of course, Takato had learned Rei was not — and should not — be perfect. He’d seen firsthand how such a small, thoughtless word had warped Rei’s self-perceptions and self-esteem over the years. He remembered when Rei had failed an assignment for the first time, or when he had offered a stranger help at the grocery store and had promptly been told to fuck off. He had the same reaction every time: a stunned, shocked silence and a forced smile, and no outward indication that this incident would repeat itself in his mind and weigh on his heart until he made it through the door to their apartment and locked himself away to cry.

The more these incidents occurred, the more Rei’s “perfect” facade crumbled away, leaving him vulnerable and contrary and human. And perhaps a contradiction to what was expected of him, Takato only ever thought that each insight to Rei’s real self was a beautiful and wonderful thing in itself.

“What are you grinning like that for?” Rei asked as he came to sit across from Takato and picked up his pair of chopsticks. “It’s creepy.”

Now that he could see his face clearly, Takato could see his eyes were tinted red, but he knew not to point it out. It would only embarrass him.

“I was thinking about you, dear,” Takato crooned against his better judgement, holding a hand to his chest dramatically. Rei sighed and ignored him to serve himself. Tough crowd tonight — he really _was_ stressed out.

“Enough of that,” Rei said with a bit of an edge as he started picking half heartedly at his meal. “How was your day? You were doing inventory today right?”

“Right,” Takato said, drooping a little as he followed Rei’s lead and started eating. “They only give me real work when they’re understaffed. I’m going to school so... It’s not like I’m useless,” he vented a little bitterly. 

“You’ve only been there for a month or so.” Rei said gently, his expression softening. “Give it a little more time, I’m sure they’ll see.”

“Hmm mm I hope sooo...” Takato said. “Ah, but that Kurosawa guy came in again. It’s been like the third week in a row!”

He didn’t interject to offer any of his own experiences from the day, even when the conversation lulled and lapsed into silence. He only ever offered noises of acknowledgement and questions to prompt Takato to continue. Rei was normally a quiet person, especially compared to someone as loud as his boyfriend, but even then this level of un-involvement was odd even for him. But as Takato continued, he was glad to see Rei’s shoulders relaxing ever so slightly, glad to see that he was starting to pick out bigger chunks of grilled salmon as he listened with something that looked like relief. At last when the dishes had been picked clean he stacked their dishes and went to stand.

“No, no, no. Don’t worry about that today, I’ve got it,” Takato fussed, gently smacking Rei’s hands away from the dishes. “Do you need a bath?”

“Not tonight,” Rei said, sounding a little perturbed at being ordered around. He looked more curious than angry though, and obeyed, rising to stand with a relieved stretch.

“Why don’t you go lie down for a bit then?” Takato suggested, coming around the table to kiss Rei’s forehead before reaching down for the stack of dishes. Rei let out a huff of a sigh. 

“Nothing gets past you, huh?”

“Nope~ So you’re better off giving it up,” Takato hummed, looping his free arm around Rei’s waist to pull him close, pressing his face into Rei’s hair and staying like that for a long savoured moment. Rei gave another huff but didn’t fight against him.

“Fine,” Rei finally mumbled, giving Takato a quick peck on the cheek in response. “I’ll go along with your games for today.”

“What games?” Takato asked in an exaggerated voice, sounding indignant. “Can I not want to do something nice for my boyfriend once in a while?”

Rei let out an amused scoff in response as he pulled himself out of Takato’s grasp and headed over to their bedroom with a muffled yawn. He couldn’t turn his face away quite fast enough for Takato to miss the tiny smile adorning his lips. The gesture made Takato’s chest feel warm and his head feel light as he turned to the sink, filling it up with hot water and losing himself in his thoughts again as he did. 

Takato used to think Rei was like a puzzle, that over time he could obtain each piece of him until it all fit together - at which point Takato would be able to proudly say that he knew him. Takato had thought that — like every puzzle — there was a trick to understanding how Rei’s mind worked. And if he knew it, he would be able to solve anything within seconds. 

But people aren’t puzzles, and people aren’t meant to be solved. Rei had had a hard time in second year — whether it was the sudden, steep increase of schoolwork or the expectations he put on himself in their relationship, or something else entirely, Takato would probably never know. At the time, Reit was meek, withdrawn and tearful at his mildest, and snappish, antagonistic and cruel at his worst. Sometimes Takato had felt like his boyfriend had been replaced by a stranger.

It had taken months of shouting matches and slammed doors and and tearful apologies for Takato to realize that it wasn’t that he was missing one of Rei’s pieces. It was because even when all the pieces came together, you still get an incomplete image in the end. And Takato saw it in himself as well, when he irrationally pushed away Rei’s hands of comfort or when angry spitting words fell from his mouth before he realized he’d even said them.

For the two of them, with their conflicting personalities and their awkwardness in navigating talk of emotions and feelings, it wasn’t easy to bridge that gap, to understand each other and readily accept that sometimes the pieces they tried to force into the puzzle were simply not meant to fit. 

They had changed a lot even in the last year or so, Takato reflected. Rei felt more easy-going now, and he supposed he had taken on a bit more responsibility. In fact, when they had first graduated, he would have moaned and complained about the prospect of making dinner and doing dishes, but now found a kind of comfort in the rhythmic mediocrity of chores like this. And knowing it would make Rei’s life easier as he dealt with his own work at university made him feel better as well. 

He dried the last of the dishes and drained the water as he mulled over all of this. He wiped down his hands with a towel and tossed it into the laundry basket before leaning into the doorway of the room they shared. The light was off, but Takato could see well enough from the lamp in the hallway. Rei sat up as he appeared in the door frame. He had already dressed down into his sleepwear, but he didn’t look like he’d been trying to sleep.

“Are you coming in?” He asked. 

Takato shrugged. “I dunno. I thought I’d just stand here.”

Rei sighed again - a common response to Takato in general, although he knew there was always a touch of affection hidden in that tone of exasperation. “Get in here, you idiot.”

“Well, if my darling insists.” He threw himself into the bed beside Rei, laughing a bit at the indignant squawk of surprise the older boy made in response. He wrapped his arms around Rei’s waist and clung to him, burying his face into the fabric of his shirt. 

Rei let out another audible sigh and Takato felt his fingers threading through his hair, softly scratching at his scalp. “What’s with you today?” He asked quietly.

Takato continued nuzzling into his side, his answer muffled. “Whaddaya mean?”

“You’re quiet,” Rei said, stroking his hair in slow methodical movements. “Quieter than normal at least. What are you actually thinking about?”

Takato smiled a little as he loosened his grip around Rei’s waist and lifted his head to look up at him. “I wasn’t lying before. I was thinking about you. And us.”

Rei took a soft inhale, and Takato could practically feel his heart skip a beat from where his head was resting against his chest. He took a long time to respond. “In a good way?” 

“Of course,” Takato said warmly. He tugged Rei down from his sitting position and the older boy let him, shifting onto his side so that they lay facing each other. A pink blush had settled on his cheeks and his eyes kept flicking away from Takato’s face. He still had a hard time being this close — both in a physical and emotional sense — but Takato always marvelled at the fact he could look at him like this. Marvelled at the fact that no one else got to see him like this. 

“You had a hard day right?” Takato asked gently. “You don’t have to talk about it, but… If you want to, you can always talk to me, okay?”

Rei looked away, tucking his bangs back behind an ear. A fruitless gesture, since they slid back over his eyes as soon as he moved. “Y-You don’t have to sound so serious.” He said with a bit of a stutter.

“I am serious though.” Takato said, shifting closer until their foreheads were pressed together and their noses brushed and their breath mixed together. Takato’s heart was pounding and squeezing and yet somehow he felt unbelievably calm and peaceful, like he could lie here for eternity and not mind how time passed around him. 

“I love you,” Takato said suddenly, for no other reason other than that was how he truly felt. 

Rei’s lips cracked into a small smile, the almost-constant furrow in his brow smoothing and his gaze softening. He tilted his head slightly and leaned forward to kiss him. Takato felt his eyes flutter closed as he savoured the taste of Rei’s lips, a fresh minty flavour from his toothpaste that made his mouth tingle pleasantly. He felt Rei’s hand come up to cradle his cheek, his thumb stroking his skin in time with their kiss. It was slow and soft, with no sense of urgency behind it and Takato was sure he was melting under the heat of Rei’s tongue. 

When they separated, Rei nuzzled into Takato’s neck. His voice was muffled, and his words vibrated against his skin when he spoke. “I love you too.”

Takato wrapped an arm around his waist, pulling him flush against him. “Not ‘I love you too, _idiot?_ ’” He asked with chuckle.

“The couch is looking like it could use an occupant tonight,” Rei replied dryly. Takato gave a scandalized gasp in response, squeezing Rei’s waist.

“Nooo, I’m sooorry~” he whined. Rei shoved against his chest with a rough laugh. 

“Stop it! You’re right in my ears.”

“Hmm?” Takato replied in a low tone, pushing himself up to lean over Rei, his lips brushing against his earlobe. “But I thought you liked when I did that?” Rei squirmed away from him, curling in on himself and giving short huffy giggles under his breath. 

They tussled for a bit like teenagers without a care in the world, attacking ticklish spots and peppering kisses until they fell into the covers gasping from exhaustion, their hands gripping each other’s clothes and their legs intertwined. They fell away into comfortable silence, only broken by their breathing — ragged and harsh to start before softening as they recovered their breath.

Takato had almost fallen asleep, lulled by the warmth of Rei pressed against his chest when his boyfriend’s voice suddenly broke the silence.

“I failed that midterm I had the other day.” He said softly, waking Takato from his stupor. He made a sleepy noise of acknowledgement and slid an arm up to his back to pull him even closer. He didn’t trust his voice to say anything properly in this state, but he knew Rei would appreciate the physical gesture of comfort more anyway. 

“I didn’t study enough,” he continued. He sounded tired more than teary or upset. Takato had noticed that a lot with him lately. “A project in another class ended up taking more time than I thought and I ran out of time.”

“‘M sorry,” Takato mumbled, rubbing light, comforting circles into Rei’s back. Rei pecked the tip of his nose gently.

“It’s okay. I’ll make sure I work harder on the next one.” He paused again. “I didn’t want it to be a big deal but I suppose... I didn’t hide it very well.”

“Rei...” Takato said. “You don’t have to hide anything from me, y’know?”

“I know.” He sounded tired again. He said it like there was a lot more meaning behind that statement then he dared let on, and Takato knew it to be true. “I know.”

Takato raised a hand to brush Rei’s bangs from his face. Even in light this dim, he was struck at how beautiful he was. He would look even more beautiful without the start of dark shadows under his eyes, without the returning furrow in his brow, without the unconscious frown adorning his lips. But this was the Rei he loved as well. This was the Rei who couldn’t be — shouldn’t be — perfect, the Rei who’s puzzle pieces didn’t always come together to create a masterpiece. This was the Rei that was vulnerable and raw and real. And that in itself was what made Takato love him more and more with each passing day. 

“Go to sleep, love.” Takato urged quietly. “You’ll feel better in the morning.”


End file.
